Parental Control on Technology

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You get home from a long day of learning. The first thing you do is check the newsfeed on apps like Twitter and Instagram to see what you missed. Occasionally, you get the usual, “You spend too much time on your electronics!” from your parents.

They think, “What can be done to make my child focus more on the outside world rather than the online world? What would be a successful solution to this conflict?”

Many parents who have had similar questions have drawn the conclusion that the most effective way to limit a child’s electronic time is by setting parental controls.

Parents who monitor their student’s electronics is a common occurrence nowadays. With so many negative influences online, parents often make decisions to check what their teens do. This action could go one of two ways, punishment or trust.

In a Jan. 7 New York Times article titled Parents Monitoring Teenagers Online, and Mostly, Getting it Right by KJ Dell’Antonia, she cited Pew Research Center’s analysis of what teenagers are looking up online and how their parents feel about the content. The research influenced how parents believe the content their child looks at relates to their behavior.

Pew’s researchers surveyed parents of teenagers during the winter of 2015. This study was used to identify the range of actions the parents take to monitor their children’s online lives. Researchers hope this will motivate teenagers to use technology in an appropriate way.

According to Pew Research Center, among the parents who were surveyed, 65 percent have taken away their teenager’s phone, while 55 percent of them have limited the amount of time their child can spend online. The survey showed 61 percent of parents have checked their teenager’s website history, 60 percent have checked their social media profile, 48 percent have looked through phone messages and calls, 39 percent have used parental control for online activities and 16 percent have used parental controls as well as tracking tools on their teenager’s cellphone.

Junior Annika Morken said, “My parents don’t personally use parental control, so I’m glad I don’t have to worry about my internet use being limited.”

After analyzing what their teenagers view, 94 percent of parents had a talk with their teen about what’s okay for them to share online, according to Pew Research Center. Additionally, 95 percent of parents talk about what is appropriate to look at online along with what teens should believe from the media. There are 92 percent of parents who have talked to their children about their online behavior towards others. Junior Kiersten Wood said, “It’s surprising to see how many parents actually monitor their kids, so I’m really glad my parents haven’t done anything to check my online life. It must be really uncomfortable for some people who get bothered by having their parents watching what they’re doing!”